Google Apps

I will be the first to admit that I had very little experience with Google Apps when I first started this course.  I had used my gmail and searched for things in Google but never knew that Google had all these apps!  My first real introduction to it was while working with the technology integration specialist at my former school district.  I am working with the technology integration specialist and assistant for my in-class experience and they introduced me to Google Presentation and Google Drawings.  I was surprised by how much these apps looked like Microsoft applications that I have on my computer and how easy they are to use.  The kids were picking up the skills quickly and were excited to be working on the computers.  I would love to be able to use these applications to help me with my job; they would be good tools to use for professional development hours.  I am enjoying using these apps with my peers; I never knew about Google Forms and I can definitely see the positive aspects of using it in the classroom.  I can learn so much by creating these surveys, even about my peers (especially about their sense of humor!).

Social Networking

Social networking is everywhere!  It is being used at home, at work, among friends and, most recently, in schools.  There are, of course, a lot of pros and cons to using social media in schools, centered mostly around how the media is used and if it is being used safely.

Teachers can learn a lot about their students by having access to their social media.  Students share everything online with their friends: pictures, sayings, favorites, quotes, interests, etc.  Learning about the interests of the students can help teachers forge a bond with their students and help the students want to learn.  A teacher can also use social media to connect with their students online to remind them of homework assignments, missed work, etc.  My brother-in-law is a high school teacher and he uses Twitter to connect with his students; he posts homework assignments, classwork for students who may have been absent, allows students to ask questions, etc.  The kids can do this all from home.  Allowing students to use Blogger, YouTube or even some aspects of Google allows the students to work together even when they are not together.  Group projects no longer have to be about one student doing all the work or one student doing all the research while another student does all the writing and another finds all the pictures.  Students can be working collaboratively online in school and at home.  So much can be done with online resources that it seems bizarre to fight using this technology in schools.

But so much can go wrong when working online, which brings me to the cons side of using social media.  Precautions have to be made to keep the kids safe while in the online world.  Everything needs to be password protected so that only people who should be looking at the work is looking at it.  Students need to be taught how to safely make a digital footprint.  What students post online, especially in social media, can affect their future in certain fields, especially when it comes to employment opportunities.  Teachers are the people who have been chosen to teach the students how to use the internet safely.  Some school districts aren't even giving the students the chance to use social media in schools; the sites are blocked for teachers and students who are accessing the school's network.  I can understand not wanting the students to be distracted during the school day but if the school can monitor how the students are using the social media then there are less chances of the students becoming distracted.

For me, it's a why fight the fact that the students are going to be using these social medias at school, either on the computer or on their phone?  If you can't beat 'em, join 'em!  Might as well embrace this digital age since more and more medias are going to be introduced.  As long as the students are taught how to be safe then social media should be allowed to be used in school.

The Importance of a Digital Footprint

Everyone who has ever gone on the internet has left a digital footprint.  Many people don't realize that what they look at or pictures they post on the internet are acceptable to many different people.  Compared to a lot of other people, I think I have a relatively small digital footprint.  I do have a Facebook page that I frequent often and I do have a couple different email addresses (one for work/professional and one for when I order items online).  Many of my other sites are for classes (such as Twitter and my Blogger account) or to check the news.  Comparatively, my digital footprint is probably smaller than some of the elementary students I hope to teach some day.  I will admit to posting many pictures and status updates on my Facebook page since I started it but I am always very careful about what I post or what I let people tag me in.  I was warned when I started the teaching program at Plymouth State that potential employers could be looking at resources on the internet to see what kinds of things we've been posting.  The thought was that if employers could see it, so could parents of students in your class.  Therefore anything inappropriate should not be posted to our pages.  Digital footprints can make a big impact on your professional and personal life.

For so many reasons, students should be told about their digital footprint from the moment they are introduced to technology.  They need to understand the impact that making bad decisions concerning the internet could have on their future.  If the students are taught from the beginning (maybe five or six years old) to be respectful of the internet hopefully they will continue to be respectful as they get older.  Teachers and parents should be responsible for educating their students of the dangers of the internet; school is a great place for students to be introduced and monitored using the internet.  It also helps if the teachers and parents are being good role models for the students; you can't tell your students/children not to post inappropriate statements or pictures online if you have been doing just that.  Everyone needs to be aware of their digital footprint and the impact it has on the people around them!

Technology Integration Specialists

Hello everyone!

Technology is becoming more and more important in schools today.  Important enough that not only are school districts hiring technology teachers but also hiring technology integration specialists.  When I first heard the term "technology integration specialist", my mind automatically thought of the teacher that came into my classroom when I was in elementary school that taught me how to type and play math games on the computer.  But that is not what a technology integration specialist is.  A technology integration specialist is an educator who specializes not in how to do the basics on the computer (turning it on, typing, etc.) but instead an educator who specializes in how to most effectively use the computer as a teaching tool.  It is the job of the technology integration specialist to teach the teacher how to help his/her students learn using the computer most effectively.  I met one of these "technology integration specialists" during my student teaching; she taught my students how to use the computer to record their voices to make public service announcements about severe weather that could be shared on the school's webpage.  Never in a million years would I have thought to have my students create something so awesome to show what they had learned about how to prepare for severe weather!  Other teachers I talked with told me about how they were learning to use blogs as part of their homework regime; yet another piece of technology that I would never have thought to use with my students!  The technology integration specialist is a very important person in a school because they help teachers meet the standards regarding technology (International Society for Technology in Education, 2015).

Students today use technology in and out of the classroom.  In many places, it is rare for students to be without technology surrounding them in their homes: computers, laptops, TV's, iPads, iPods, tablets, cell phones, etc. The same technology is not always accessible at school.  Some schools lack the funding to have the latest technology within their classrooms.  Other schools have received grants to allow them to have a laptop cart, a smartboard, projectors, or iPads for the students to use.  Teachers are expected to learn how to use all of these devices and be able to teach the students how to effectively use them too.  Many teachers are embracing the use of technology in their classroom and trying to include technology whenever they can.  Others are more reluctant to try it.  They have taught one way for all of their careers, why should they change now?  The world is changing and quickly becoming more digital.  The teachers and the students need to be prepared for these changes and the best way to do that is within the school.

References

International Society for Technology in Education.2015. Digital age learning. Retrieved        from http://www.iste.org/standards/standards-for-students